Rail clamp



Patented June 10, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

MIL CLAMP.

Application filed December 15, 1923. Serial No. 680,860.

To alt who/m` t may concern.'

Be it known that l, CLAYFORD T. GRIMM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Adrian, in the county of Upshur and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Clamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to rail clamps and particularly to a clamp for securing a rail section of any length to each of the end rails of a mine car track when it is desired to extend said track a definite distance beyond the point at which it formerly'terminated.

In the working of mines, the mine car track is laid up close to the working faces in the mine but as mining continues the distance between a working Vface and the terminal of the track gradually increases until the material being mined must be carried a considerable distance before it can be loaded in the cars. lt is then necessary to extend the track up to the working face.

If the rail sections used to make this extension of the trackshould be placed on the ties with their ends abutting the ends of the rails of the previously laid track, it is apparent that rails of varying lengths would have to be kept onY hand for use according to the distance between the working face and the terminal of the track or, to avoid keeping these numerous lengths of rails on hand, only long rails could `be kept but they would have to be cut to the proper length. In view of this, it has become the practice when extending the` track, to place. the new rail alongside of or overlapping somewhat, the end rails of the previously laid track and clamp them in place by what is known as balling in. Various clamps have been designed for use in balling in the new rails but in most instances said clamps require more or less nicely finished parts, particun larly the clamp wedge, and in some cases the support for the new rail is not as strong as it should be.

Anobject of the present invention is to provide a rail'clamp in which the wedge need not be of any particular design or dimensions, pieces of timber such as are found around the mines, [being susceptible of use as the wedgingmember in the present clamp.

A further object is to clamp the new rail, the hed rail, to the original or tread rail in a lposition where it will have a considerable vbearing surface on a number of the rail ties as well as an extended bearing on the tread rail and where the surfaces of the. bed rails on which the car wheels run will extend parallel to the carwheel axles'so that no undue strains will be placed on any parts of the car.

ln the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of mine track leading to a working face, the latter being shown diagrammatically;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view showin'g the bed rail clamped to theJ tread rail;

'.Fig. 3 is a. view of the clamp removed from the rails.

The mine car track consisting of the tread rails 10 spiked or otherwise secured to the wood or steel ties 12, is shown as extending along the mine ioor to about the point where one of the working faces was originally located. After the working face has receded to the point illustrated at 11 in the drawings it is necessary that the track be extended 4 into proximity thereto.

lt is desirable to'always maintain the terminal of the track close to the working face but, at the same time, it is also desirable to avoid making numerous extensions with short length rails. Therefore, to permit comparatively long lengths of rails to be used in making the extension, without severing said section, and regardless of the distancethe track has to be extended, the new rails are placed on the ties 12 with one end of each rail beside and overlapping the extremities of the end rails of the track. As will be apparent, the extent of overlap is determined entirely by the distance to be covered by the extension.

Each new rail, or bed rail as it is called, is laid inside of the old or tread rail, the tread of the bed rail 13 being positioned against the web of the tread rail 10 and one edge of the bed rail base flange resting on the ties 12. The under surface of the bed rail base flange is substantially perpendicular to the ties 12 or parallel to the web of the tread rail and When clamped in this position, the car Wheels, after passing beyond the ends of rails 10, will run along the substantially horizontally disposed Webs of the bed rails.

The clamp contemplated by the present invention for securing the bed rails in place in this position, comprises a body portion 14 which extends beneath both the tread and bed rails and has at its inner end an up` right member 15 that bears against the substantially perpendicularly arranged bed rail base flange. The body portion of the clamp is below the top surface of the ties 12 so that one edge of the base flange of the bed rail rests directly on the ties 12 and at its opposite edge said base flange is embraced by a hook 16 formed on theextremity of the upright member 15.

At its opposite end, on the outer side of the tread rail 10, the clamp body 14 has an upwardly extending hook 17 between which and the Web of the tread rail a Wedge 18 isl driven for clamping the bed rail tight against the web of said tread rail as will be readily understood. In order that the Wedge used as above described need not be of any fixed form or dimensions, hook. 17 is curved, with its convex side facing the tread rail 10. The irregular curvature of said hook 17 permits practically any form of Wedge being used, a piece of timber such as is ordinarily found in amine being illustrated inthe present instance.

In addition to this advantage, the clamp of the present invention permits theedge of the bed rail base flange to rest on the ties 12 Withsaid flange arranged perpendicularto said ties and said flange is engaged throughout its height by the upright member 15 of the clamp. The Webs of the bed rails on Which the car Wheels run are also arranged so that they are not inclined With respect to the car wheel axle. 'Withv this arranfrement, no undue strains are placed on the axles andas the bed rails are firmly supported directly upon the ties, the only Way in which any of the parts can possibly Work loose is by an endwise nievement of the Wedge 18.

What is claimed is:

1. A rail clamp including a body portion extending beneath a tread rail and on or posite sides thereof and having an upright member at one end of the body portion adapted to bear against the under surface of the base flange of a bed rail, there being a hook at the outer end of said upright member adapted to engage the said base flange, and a hook member at the opposite end of said body portion, and a wedge between said hook member and the Web of the tread rail.

2. A rail clamp including a body portion adapted to extend beneath a tread rail, a hook member at one end of said body portion on one side of said rail, a Wedge adapted to be driven between said hook member and the web of said rail, and an upright member at the opposite end of said body portion spaced from the tread rail Web to acconunodate a bed rail, said bed rail being held by said upright member with its under surface bearing against said upright member and with one of its edges supported directly on the rail ties, and a hook on said upright engaging the opposite edge of the base flange of said bed rail.

3; A rail clamp including a body portion adapted to extend beneath a tread rail, a curved hook member at one end of said body portion, a Wedge of irregular crosssection adapted to be driven between said hook and the. web of said rail, and an upright member at. the opposite end of said body portion spaced from the tread rail to accommodate a bed rail, and a hook formed at the end of said upright member engaging the edge of the base flange of said bed rail.

CLAYFORD T. GRIMM. 

